On Tuesday, May 27, residents of Ritchot lined up at the municipal civic office to get their hands on free spruce trees, courtesy of the RM. 

According to RM staffer Uriel Jelin, the tree giveaway was an extension of the municipality’s ongoing community outreach initiatives. It is hoped that the project will encourage yard beautification and sustainability.

All in all, the response to the giveaway was even better than Jelin expected. Just two hours into the giveaway, the 270 available trees were gone. 

“We were thrilled to see how eager the community is to take part in greening their properties,” Jelin says. “[The giveaway] was supposed to start at 9:30. I was ready at the table at 9:15 and there was already a lineup of people. Some helped me to bag the trees and it was just a really nice community vibe.”

The trees were limited to three per household. In order to be eligible, one had to show proof of Ritchot residency. 

Ryan Faucher is the municipality’s economic development officer and the man who initiated the giveaway. He, too, was surprised and pleased at resident uptake.

Faucher ordered the young spruce from an online company when the trees went on sale for around $1 each. They were affordable enough to warrant the expense without needing to seek outside funding. The trees came in a variety of sizes, the tallest being about 30 inches.

“All of the programs out there for free trees right now tend to be only available for putting on public property,” Faucher says. “We’re just a big fan of people having the ability to green up their own properties. It’s part of the [RM’s] overall strategy, like the EV chargers and the car share. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Thanks to the positive public response, Faucher and Jelin say more trees are on their way. 

The next round of spruce tree giveaways will take place over the course of the summer at events being hosted by the RM. It’s Faucher’s way of encouraging more attendance.